FROM Z TO A-LISTER - Jen Su

BOREDOM SLAYER by Richard Mulholland

BRAVE LOTUS FLOWER RIDES THE DRAGON - Tracy Todd

Quick Overview

Why walk when you can soar… These are the opening words on Tracy Todd’s website and they are a powerful affirmation of the person Tracy is today – a sought-after inspirational speaker whose uplifting presentations have inspired and given hope to many people.

But it is difficult to imagine what she has overcome in a tough and often lonely journey. At the age of twenty-eight her life was turned upside down when a horrific road accident left her a quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck down. Her life as an athletic, marathon-running young mother and teacher was abruptly shattered.

Despite months of rehabilitation, Tracy often found herself wondering if her life was worth living. Everything she had taken for granted was now beyond her reach and frustration at her helplessness threatened to overwhelm her. Against the odds, Tracy chose to live. Her strength of character and determination prevailed and, sustained by the support of her son, family and friends, her care assistants, and an unbelievably caring community, she set about gaining the independence to rebuild her life and reclaim her identity – which she has done, with dignity and grace.

Brave Lotus Flower Rides The Dragon is an honest, inspiring and engaging memoir in which Tracy’s natural warmth and humour are tangible and, most importantly, she embodies what the human spirit can achieve.

Lives can be changed in an instant. For Tracy Todd, that moment came in April 1998. She had walked out of her home with her husband, holding their baby on her hip and dragging a suitcase packed with beach clothes. Seven weeks later, she was pushed through their front door in a wheelchair, unable to move anything except her head.

Tracy lives in Mbombela and has become an accomplished and much-sought-after public speaker, inspiring many with her story. She has played a significant and critical role in raising her son. And most significantly, she has found love and emotional fulfilment.

Her memoir, Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon, is an honest and intimate look into the life of a South African quadriplegic. Many people have never met a quadriplegic and have no idea how to respond when they do. Tracy’s candid details of how she has coped, physically and emotionally, with various day-to-day activities like eating, reading, writing, communicating, bathing and going to the toilet, as well as her romantic and sexual experiences, lays it all bare.